Linda S. Zankowsky, Director
Linda S. Zankowsky, Ed.D., is the director of the University of Delaware Montessori Teacher Residency (UDMTR), offered through UD’s Division of Professional and Continuing Studies. Recently Linda served as the interim director of the Early Learning Center at the University of Delaware and assistant professor in UD’s College of Education and Human Development, Department of Human Development and Family Studies. Linda has 33 years of experience as a reading specialist, classroom teacher, school principal and Head of School at Wilmington Montessori School. Linda’s focus has been on literacy and assessment, social curriculum, and building professional learning communities. She has served as an adjunct instructor at UD, consulted with schools and presented nationally on literacy assessment. A parent of two Montessori children, Linda is a strong advocate of Montessori education as an option for all children. The preparation of teachers is essential to providing quality Montessori choices for children and families.
Melissa Sugzdinis, Program Manager
Melissa Sugzdinis, M.Ed., has been a Montessori teacher for over 20 years. She has taught both lower and upper elementary, and worked as an elementary enrichment coordinator, reading specialist and Title I math specialist. Melissa has worked for private, charter and public schools in Ohio, Delaware and Pennsylvania, and is state certified in Delaware and Pennsylvania. She received her bachelor’s degree from the Ohio State University, and her master’s degree from Wilmington University. She holds an Elementary II credential from CMTE-NY. Melissa was involved in the development of the Center for Montessori Advancement and has worked with the Delaware STARS program to bring professional development to Montessori teachers in Delaware. She has partnered with AMS and MACTE on various initiatives. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two Montessori sons. Her hope is for all children to have access to the amazing Montessori experiences her own children had growing up.
UDMTR Faculty
- Shamima Campwala
- Melissa Connelly
- Neepa Dhar
- Mason Falligant
- E. McCrae Harrison
- Ginger Mayhew
- Peter McClure
- Sinead Meehan
- Jon Otto
- Shelley Robyn
- Cammy Russell
Melissa Connelly, M.Ed., has been teaching children in Montessori, public and international settings for over 25 years. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology and English from the State University of New York at Buffalo and her master’s degree in education from North Carolina State University. She is certified as a K-8 teacher in Delaware and holds Elementary I Montessori Certification from the Barrie Institute of Higher Montessori Studies. Before joining Wilmington Montessori School’s elementary program in 2005, Melissa served in the Peace Corps in Albania, worked with at-risk Native American children in New Mexico, led groups of high school students completing community-service projects in the British Virgin Islands, and taught environmental education on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. She loves the creativity and problem-solving of “following the child” academically and emotionally: what will most motivate, inspire and bring out this child’s strengths as well as perseverance through challenges?
Neepa has an M.Ed. in early childhood education and has been a Montessori teacher for over 22 years. She has taught both in the private and public sector in Philadelphia and New Jersey. She received her bachelor’s degree from Calcutta University in India and Temple University in Philadelphia, and her master’s degree from Chestnut Hill College, Pennsylvania. She holds a Primary Montessori degree from AMS (American Montessori Society). Neepa is currently working in the public sector and merging Montessori math with public school district curriculum. She lives in New Jersey with her family. Her dream is to spread the Montessori curriculum and philosophy in the world.
As a former Montessori student, Mason has always deeply valued the beauty of the Montessori method, and he began his Montessori teaching career upon his graduation from Auburn University’s Honors College in 2019. After teaching as a lead upper elementary guide at Ross Montessori School in Carbondale, Colorado, Mason moved to Delaware to join Sussex Montessori School (in Seaford) as a founding teacher in its inaugural year. Mason completed his Elementary I-II certification through the UDMTR training program. Mason is currently the math curriculum lead, an upper elementary lead guide, and a board member at Sussex Montessori School, and he works in conjunction with UDMTR as an apprentice instructor.
McCrae Harrison, M.Ed., has a 40-year history in Montessori having earned her lower elementary Montessori teaching credential from The Center for Montessori Teacher Education and then working first as a teacher and then Head of School at the AMS-accredited Elementary Workshop Montessori School in Wilmington, DE, and retiring from Delaware’s first Montessori public program, the Montessori Academy at Christina. McCrae was a commissioner for the AMS School Accreditation Commission for 12 years, the final three of which were spent as the commission’s chair and its representative on the AMS board of directors. Her commitment to high-quality Montessori has led her to participate on innumerable accreditation teams throughout the United States. She was also on the board of Montessori Works, whose mission is to improve accessibility to Montessori in Delaware and surrounding areas, and of the Association of Delaware Montessori Schools.
Apprentice instructor Ginger Mayhew is a K/1 lead teacher at First State Montessori Academy charter school in Wilmington, Delaware. She graduated from the University of Delaware’s Early Childhood Education program and found her personal hook in Montessori through researching best practice in differentiated instruction. She then got her Montessori lower elementary certification at the Institute of Advanced Montessori Studies in Silver Spring, Maryland, as well as her Responsive Classroom 1 & 2 trainings. In the classroom, she is particularly interested in supporting children’s social and emotional development.
Peter brings over 20 years of experience in Montessori environments, having worked in both public charter and private schools. A graduate of Yale University, with an MAT from Boston University, Peter holds his 6-12 teaching credential from the American Montessori Society. In addition to being a classroom teacher, he has been an administrator, a coach, a board member and a faculty leader for schools in both Massachusetts and Delaware.
Sinead Meehan, M.Ed., is a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate and research assistant in Drexel University’s School of Education. Adhering to the belief that education scholars must consider issues of equity, representation and identity, her interests include examining the ways in which teacher preparation and professional development can be conceptualized through a lens of equity and social justice as the field supports K-12 science and engineering teachers. Prior to pursuing her Ph.D., Sinead was an elementary and middle school teacher in New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. In addition to being a full-time student, Sinead works as a teacher educator for Drexel University, West Side Montessori School’s Teacher Education Program and the University of Delaware’s Montessori Teacher Residency. Sinead received a bachelor of science in early grades education from West Chester University and master of arts in education from St. Catherine’s University. Sinead is AMS credentialed at the Elementary I Level and holds a Pennsylvania Teaching Certificate for PK-9th grade.
Jon comes with 20+ years of diverse experience in teaching and coaching in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California, Texas, Delaware, and Ecuador, currently serving as Elementary Guide, Garden Coordinator, and Cultural Curriculum Lead at Sussex Montessori in Seaford, Delaware. He has collaborated with Montessorians working in the public sector through professional associations like BAMA (Bay Area Montessori Association) and his 6-12 AMS training program at St Mary’s College, Moraga, CA. Jon’s background includes a master’s and teaching credential in bilingual Spanish teaching. He also worked with the Marine Science Institute in the San Francisco Bay for ten years. For over 15 years has coordinated school gardens, which was the subject of his master’s project. Jon is passionate about adapting language learning strategies to Montessori and incorporating hands-on environmental education, and overall, supporting equitable and inclusive Montessori expansion. Jon has worked as a lower and an upper elementary and an Adolescent guide, as well as an Instructional Coach and Instructor. He has worked as an Instructor for UDMTR since 2020.
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For more information about this program or to join the mailing list, please contact UDMTR director Linda Zankowsky via the following webform:
